Celtic enjoy a fair bit of overlap with Manchester City.
Brendan Rodgers may not be too keen on giving Jahmai Simpson-Pusey any minutes currently, but players to have made the move from Man City to Celtic in the past have had some real success.
From Georgios Samaras to Patrick Roberts to Joe Hart to John Guidetti, it’s a trusted pipeline – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Hoops icon Billy McNeill also spent three years in charge at City in the 1980s, earning them promotion to the First Division.
But for one City legend, who never played for Celtic, there is no doubt over his boyhood club – despite his Dad being a Rangers fan.
Man City legend on being a Celtic fan
Despite being in a different stratosphere now to where they were in previous decades, City fans haven’t forgotten some of their legends from the pre-Abu Dhabi era.
None more so than Paul Dickov, who spent eight years at City across two spells, and earned 10 caps for Scotland.
When speaking as a guest on TalkSPORT, hosts Alan Brazil and Ally McCoist were arguing over which team he supported, before he stepped in.
McCoist said: “Alan’s trying to kid the nation on that you’re a Celtic man. Now I know fine well where your bread’s buttered. Your bread is buttered in Govan.
Dickov replied: “It’s not very often I think Alan’s right, but he’s 100% right on this Ally, I’m sorry mate.”
McCoist said that he had found a story on Google that Dickov’s father had taken him to Ibrox – Dickov then replied: “My Dad tried to take me to Ibrox, my Dad was actually a Rangers fan.”
McCoist then joked: “Did your Mum drop you as a baby?”
Dickov never even played in Scotland as a player, let alone get a move to his boyhood club. Thankfully, this hasn’t changed his allegiance.
Celtic-supporting footballers in England
Dickov is far from the first Celtic-supporting player to ply their trade in England – Andy Robertson, Ben Gannon-Doak and John McGinn all do it currently.
Trevor Sinclair is a well-known Celtic fan due to his Glaswegian father and Sligo-born mother. Stan Collymore has also made his allegiance clear.
Kevin Kilbane recently referred to Celtic as the ‘biggest club in the world’ when discussing the future of Alistair Johnston. James McClean’s allegiance is no secret, either.
Roy Keane is an example of a player who made a move to Celtic after a stellar career in England, but not everyone gets so lucky – just look at Joey Barton.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
